Journal Communications employees received the following memo Monday, on the 33rd day of the blackout of Journal Broadcast Group stations, including WTMJ-TV (Channel 4), on Time Warner Cable.

The dispute between them is over fees the cable service pays to carry a stations' programming. Time Warner is in a similar dispute with CBS-owned stations, whose settlement will set the standard for the future, said the Hollywood Reporter.

The WTMJ negotiations likely will have similar reverberations locally.

The letter is from Andre J. Fernandez, president and CFO of Journal Communications. It doesn't reveal more than what is already publicly known. A reference he makes to the Game Show Network, however, is incorrect. Time Warner subscribers are now receiving the Tennis Channel coverage of the U.S. Open at the Channel 4 dial location.

Dear Journal Employees:

As you know, we are working to reach a new retransmission agreement with Time Warner Cable for Milwaukee, Green Bay, Omaha and Palm Springs. I wanted to update you on our negotiations and reinforce Journal’s commitment to doing what is best for our stations and our viewers.

Several key points remain as important milestones:

On June 28, Journal offered an extension to July 31, 2013. Time Warner rejected it without discussion and took our stations down on July 25.

This move is unprecedented – no other Journal Broadcast Group station has ever been removed from a system. In fact, over the past six years, we successfully have negotiated more than 140 contracts with cable and other video distribution systems without ever being taken down.

As we stand today, Time Warner has replaced our local news and community outreach programs, the NBC prime time schedule and other network programming with the Game Show Network, a channel that, in July 2013, had less than 15% of the audience of TODAY’S TMJ4, our Milwaukee station. Nor does the Game Show Network offer public service alerts, weather or local news, which are critical community services of our stations.

We have asked the Attorney General in the State of Wisconsin to review the impact of Time Warner's actions on consumers who pay for access to our stations. We await the Attorney General’s decision.

In our view, Time Warner’s actions underscore a blatant disregard for the interests of their customers. We are extremely disappointed that Time Warner is unwilling to engage in productive negotiations.

We believe our viewers deserve to receive the high quality, award-winning news and local programming our stations provide. However, we are unwilling to accept an agreement that does not provide the same fair market compensation we have received from other cable and satellite companies with whom we have successfully negotiated recent agreements.

I sincerely appreciate the concern many of you have regarding our ongoing negotiations with Time Warner and its ultimate impact on both our company and our audiences. We will keep you updated as the negotiations continue. In the meantime, my sincere thanks to each of you for your steadfast conviction, your hard work, and the tireless devotion you demonstrate in serving our viewers and our local communities.

Sincerely,
Andre

About Duane Dudek

Duane Dudek is a reporter and columnist covering radio and television. He also reviews movies.